You Lost My Trust, But Here's Another Chance
by eternalreader62
Summary: Max was best friends with Fang, but that all changed when Maxs mom died. Jeb started to hit her. She was going to tell Fang but instead found him with the school slut Lissa. Their friendship was lost and she started getting bullied. She couldn't tell anyone. But does that all change when she and Fang have to work together for school and he sees the scars?
1. Chapter 1

**My friend came up with the idea for this. She is awesome. Thanks Nadine! :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. Sadly.**

Chapter 1: What is his problem?

_Max POV_

Okay, I might not be the best judge of character in the world. But one thing I do notice is when people start acting strange. Like Fang. I don't understand it. We have been best friends since like forever, and now he's just starting to like drift away. It makes no sense. He has never done this before.

It started about a week ago. He wouldn't look at me. Which I found really weird. Then as if that wasn't weird enough, he just stopped talking to me. I know, I know, he doesn't talk much anyway, but that's not the point. He wouldn't say anything.

He is not that weird. Or at least not around me. Well, he never used to be. What the hell is going on? I'm not some kind of infectious disease you can ignore. I'm a person. Who is supposed to be his best friend. Guess not anymore. So not fair.

"Fang! Pick up your bloody phone!" I shouted into my cellphone. No. He still won't pick up. I screamed out in frustration and through my phone at the wall leaving a huge dent and probably breaking my phone. I sat down on my bed and put my head in my hands. There was something really important he needed to know.

Now I was full on crying. Sobbing and everything. And I don't cry. Maximum Ride does not cry. And before all you girly girls start thinking that I was crying because he wouldn't answer my calls. Remember he is my friend I was merely crying because of something else. Something worth crying over. The very thing I needed to tell him. Why did my best friend have to do this now? When I need him the most.

God I hate him sometimes. Why does he have to be so complicated? He is usually the easiest person for me to talk to. Now he won't even let me talk to him. What the hell is wrong with him?

**I know this chapter is short I promise the next one willl be longer!**


	2. Chapter 2

**sorry it took so long for me to update, my cusions were up. so yea. thanks for all the reveiws guyz, you all rock!**

**and thanks again for the awesome idea nadine!**

**Disclaimer: I don't want to say this but . . . I dont own maxium ride. so not fair**

_Chapter 2: This is why I cried._

_Max POV_

I was on my way home from school when I received a frantic phone call from my Dad, Jeb.

"Hello?" I asked. Why was he calling me he never calls me. I could hear crying. Wait crying? This was Jeb, right? I mean no one stole his phone or anything and felt bad so rang up some random number crying about it.

"Max. You need to come home now." He said between sobs. Just my luck. It's actually him. Crying. Something's definitely wrong here.

_**(line break line break line break line break line break)**_

_Max POV_

I burst through the front door storming into the kitchen. Jeb was sitting at the table hunched over covering his face and bowling his eyes out.

"Where's Mom?" I asked. Fear was creeping into me now. She was always here when I came home from school. Which is usually, like, now.

"Max. Take a seat. This will be hard to hear." Who the hell was that? I turned to see a policeman in the corner of my kitchen.

I automatically sat down. Hey, I only piss people off when I feel like it. Wait a minute. Why is there a policeman in my kitchen?

"I am sorry to tell you that there has been an accident. A carcrash. Your mother was involved. She didn't survive." WHAT! No way. This can not be happening. No.

"No. Nooooo!" I screamed then ran upstairs and into my room, where I frantically tried to get ahold of Fang. And let me tell you that is very hard to do when you're shaking and breathing like you've just run a marathon.

Which brings me to where we started. With me crying curled up on a ball in the far corner of my bed with my back leaning against the wall. I was still in this position when I drifted off to sleep.

Sadly, it was not a dreamless sleep. It was filled with nightmares about the crash. Possible ways it could have happened, watching it from the sidelines.I woke up several times that night screaming my head off. I don't think Jeb even left the kitchen. How could I be dreaming about something I didn't see, you ask. Well it's a little thing I hate to call imagination. Yea, because it just couldn't let me be miserable in peace.

At one point in the night, when I had given up on sleeping, My phone went off. Okay, so maybe I didn't break it. I slowly got up and went to get it. It was only a txt, no reason to ran for the life of me to get it. The word _FANG_ was flashing on the screen. So the jerk finally decides to check his phone. At 1:30 am? Okay then. If he wants to be up at 1:30 in the morning that's fine with me.

This is what his 1:30 am message read: _Sorry i didn't pick up. cell was dead. c u 2morrow._

Jeez, his messages are so much like his real way of speaking. Short 2-3 or sometimes 4 word long sentences. I was just about to get angry at him for not caring, when I remembered that I never actually told him.

Tomorrow was going to be fun. Please note that there was a lot of sarcasm in that last sentence.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Telling My Friends

_Max POV_

The first thing I heard when I walked through the doors of my high school was a scream. It would have made me wonder what happened if I didn't know it was Nudge.

"What happened to you!" She shouted running over to me. My hair was a mess, and I had dark circles under my eyes, two things Nudge hates most.

"It's a long story." I said shrugging.

"Hey, where's Fang?" I asked. He was usually here arguing with Nudge about something when I came in the morning.

"I think he's trying to stop Iggy from blowing up his maths class. Iggy got really upset when he got an F on his last test. He swore he would have his revenge. If you think about it lots of people have sworn revenge on people who they think have done something bad to them. I remember when I was 9 and I swore revenge on Stella Carlton. Do you remember her, she used to be my best friend in elementary. Anyway, so I swore my revenge on her for stealing my strawberry lip gloss. It was a really good one to. It smelled and tasted nice. I remember that sometimes I would put it on before school, even though the rules are no make up. Which I think is a dumb rule, lip gloss isn't really make up. It's not like I was using foundation or blush, or mascara. Anyway so I would put it on knowing that I had to take it off just so I could lick it off. It was probably the best tasting lip gloss I've ever had. Mfffmmfmmf mffmfmf mf . . ." I had to stop this rambling or my ears would fall off. So I put my hand over her mouth. After about 10 seconds I sighed and removed my hand.

"Can we just go find Fang and Iggy." I asked feeling extremely tired. She nodded knowing I wasn't in the mood for her constant chatter.

In the end when we found them Iggy and Fang were having a glare contest, and Fang was winning. That dude has a mean glare, but no one can beat me. Gazzy and Angel were trying to get them to stop. Especially Angel. Her blonde curls bounced with every movement she made. When they saw me they relaxed, because Max is the one who sorts this kind of stuff out. Then they looked worried, probably noticing the way my hair was messed and my dark under eye circles, and of course the fact that Nudge wasn't even saying anything about it. I put my hand right in between Fang and Iggy's heads and snapped my fingers. Almost immediately they snapped out of it and faced me.

I now have five equally worried faces looking at me. God, do I really look that bad? Apparently so because Nudge wasn't just worried about my well being. She looked slightly green at the sight of my unbrushed hair.

"Are you going to tell us what happened? Or, are we just going to stand here staring at your not-so-beautiful self." Typical Iggy. He is like that with everyone. Believe it or not.

"You guys haven't heard?" I looked over the group who were all shaking their heads. My gaze landed on Fang who was shaking his head, but also deliberately not looking at me. What the hell? Now is not the time for this!

"So I guess you don't know that my Mom was in a car crash. She didn't make it." My voice was quieter than a whisper.

Stop it! I'm not going to cry! I did enough of that yesterday. I felt someone wrap their arms around me in a hug. I turned my head to see Angel looking at me with a mix of worry and sympathy on her face. I hugged her back. I felt eyes on me and turned back to everyone else. Gazzy's eyes were wide. I lifted my hand up to my face and pulled it back down. It was wet. I told myself I wasn't going to cry today! God, I hate crying!

I then went through a series of hugs, which is very rare for me. Max doesn't like hugging people. Like ever. And you can guess that this was a weird sight because a few other students had stopped to watch. I whipped my eyes, and faced them all with a glare.

"What are you looking at? Move along! God, doesn't the word privacy mean anything to you people!" I snapped. They all scattered, probably to go off and share the news that Maximum Ride isn't a complete robot.

This is going to be a great day! If you didn't notice the sarcasm in that, then you are a bigger idiot than Iggy. And he is pretty idiotic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it took me so long to update I was going through a little thing I hate to call WRITTERS BLOCK! But I think I'm over it now so hopefully more chapters will be up soon.**

**I would - again - just like to thank Nadine for the basic storyline. You rock!**

**And before I forget thanks to all my reveiwers. You guys are awesome.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. I hate having to say that.**

**R&R**

Chapter 4: Enough With The Sympathy People!

_Max POV_

Wow . . . You'd be surprised to see how fast news travels in my school. Every person knew now. Can't hide it forever. Especially when it's on the news and in the news papers. Every student I walked past would look at me sympathetically. But I knew it wouldn't last. The funeral is tomorrow, so all emotion will be ripped out of me then. Meaning that they no longer have anything to feed off and will stop bugging me. It's been almost a week. Yes I know it's a long time to wait but the crash was on Monday so I've had school all week. And I need to be there so . . . Yea, that's why it took so long.

"Stop staring at me!" I screamed to no one in particular. Everyone scattered. See here's the thing, lots of sympathetic people + Max = very angry Max, and very angry Max is not someone you want to spend time with.

The rest of the day was pretty average, apart from the, you know, whole Fang thing. I swear that bay is getting more and more distant as we speak. Though I have no idea why. He and I have always been close. Now, nadda. He hardly ever talks to me. Yes I know he hardly ever talks to anybody. But this is different. He used to talk to me.

_**(line break line break line break line break line break line break)**_

Black. You have to wear it to a funeral. I usually don't mind wearing it. Actually I like wearing it. But not today. I was wearing black jeans, black high-top converse and a black long sleeved shirt. It sorta made me feel like a girl version of Fang. Okay, definitely not sleeping enough lately.

I slowly walked down the stairs and found my Dad leaning against the wall . His eyes were red and he, well . . . he looked worse than me. And that's saying something.

It was silent the entire way there. And when we got there it was all just kind of a blur. People crying, people watching my Dad and I waiting for us to break. My dad did but I refused to let these people see me cry. No way was I going to let that happen. And you might be think, what kind of sick person doesn't cry at their mother's funeral? Well, I have one thing to say to you. DON'T JUDGE ME! If I cry I will feel weak and if I feel weak I might possibly make everyone else feel like crap because of it. Not something my mom would approve. So I won't cry in public. But that doesn't mean I won't cry alone.

Afterwards Iggy, Gazzy, Angle, Nudge and Fang came over to my house. The only person who wasn't itching to get out of these dreaded black clothes was Fang. Yea, big surprise there. Not! Okay so I wasn't in the best mood so when Fang said he had to go I snapped.

"Where do you have to go? Huh? What could possibly be more important than this? You are never here anymore! You haven't looked me in the eye for months! Why? What could have happened that made you hate me so suddenly!" I screamed in his face. Everyone was looking at me in shock. I was too busy glaring at Fang to notice. He sighed and turned to leave. He paused and said one thing before he left.

"I don't hate you Max." Then he left.

I couldn't help it then, I sank to my knees and cried, and cried, and cried, and cried. By the time I was done crying Angle and Nudge were both kneeling next to me. Trying their best to calm me down. I whipped my eyes and looked up to see Iggy and Gazzy staring at me. Iggy looked like he had no idea what to do, which didn't surprise me really. Gazzy on the other hand actually looked a little bit scared. When I looked at Angle and Nudge I realised they did to, only they were hidding it better.

God when did everything turn so lopsided. I knew why they were freaked out. They were the ones coming to me when they needed help, not the other way around. I was the strong one. The one that knew how to fix things. Not the one that needed things fixed. I used to be able to count on one hand the amount of times I've cried. But I've been crying so much lately I think I'd need three.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey sorry it took me so long to update, school got in the way. Blah! Anyway, this chapter has a bit of violence in it. So just warning you. Anyway I'm just going to thank Nadine - AGAIN - for the main idea.**

**Disclaimer (I hate this thing): I do not own maximum ride.**

Chapter 5: My Life Sucks.

_Max POV:_

It's been two days since the funeral. I was doing my homework on the couch when Jeb - I refuse to call him dad - came back from 'work'. He had been drinking, I could smell it from the other side of the room. Not to mention the fact couldn't walk straight.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. I had never seen him drunk. Ever. His eyes found me and his expression turned to one of disgust. He glared at me with such force I wondered what I did.

"You!" He shouted drunkenly. "It's all your fault! She'd still be here if it weren't for you!"

What the hell? That is so not true! How could that be true. It's not my fault a car crashed into another car that happened to have my mom in it.

He started walking towards me. I stepped back towards the stairs.

"Don't you dare move!" He shouted. Alcohol fumes were filling the air.

As he got closer I started to panic. What was he going to do to me? It turns out I didn't have to wait that long to find out. I wasn't expecting it. He pulled his fist back and drove it forward with as much force a drunk man can. And he punched me in the eye. _Okay, shake it off Max. You're fine. _I told myself. Just as I turned to run out the front door, he punched me in the side of my stomache._ Okay, that hurt_. I fell to the ground in pain. It takes a lot to hurt me. I was now in a very dangerous position. He threw another punch, this time hitting my shoulder. I suched in a breath. He kicked behind my leg. I curled in a ball to block my face, stomache, chest and legs. But then he started on my back. Kicking, punching, whatever would result in my pain. When He finally gave up on my back he started to punch at my arms, trying to move them so he could get at my stomache. But I was stubborn. I refused to move. I refused to let him see the silent tears spilling down my face.

I stayed like that for ten minutes after he left. I was in shock. My dad wouldn't do something like that. But I was wrong, he already had. I tried to stand and winced in pain as my back and legs screamed with the small movements. When I got to my room I collapsed on my bed. I knew I wouldn't get much sleep. But that didn't stop me from trying. Whenever I closed my eyes I saw the image of a drunken Jeb walking over to me, accusing me of causing the death of my mom.

The next day when I woke up I didn't feel very good. Actually I didn't look very good either; Bruises were scattered along my arms, I had a black eye, and I didn't even want to look at my back. I was careful when I got dressed that none of the bruises on my arms showed. But what about my black eye? Then I remember the makeup kit Nudge got me for secret santa last year. It wasn't very secret though, everyone knew by the time we finished. Mine was the easiest guess, who else would get me a make up kit? Oh well, I was sure thankful for it now. I just hoped I could remember how to use it.

I was a little bit scared to go down stairs. What if Jeb was still here? Thank god he wasn't. I grabbed my stuff, including my wallet so I could by some lunch - putting makeup on took a lot of time out of my morning okay. When I reached the bus stop - yes I take the bus, don't bug me about it! - it hit me that I couldn't really tell my friends. God knows how much worse my life would get at school if I became the girl who gets beat-up by her dad _and_ has no mom to talk to. My home life is screwed up enough let alone adding my school life to the mix. I decided I would tell Fang, because I can trust him to keep his mouth shut not because I don't trust anyone else.

"Oh. My. God!" Nudge squealed when I walked through the doors. Did I forget to mention I NEVER wear makeup? I guess so. "See I told you guys she would girl up one day." She said turning towards the others who were all leaning against the wall talking. Well they were until they heard Nudges comment. "I'm sorry, where are my manners. I'm Iggy, and you are?" I put my hands on my hips. Bad idea. _Oh well, just don't show them it hurts_. I told myself mentally. _You really should tell someone_. Damn that stupid voice! I ignored it and turned to Iggy specifically. "I'm the girl who, oh, I don't know, hangs out with you almost every day. You know, Max." I said sarcastically. He nearly fell over in mock shock. "Max is a girl?" I whacked his arm while the others started cracking up. "Very funny." I whacked him over the head.

The rest of the day was filled with weird looks. From everyone. It was so annoying. At least it was almost time to tell Fang. I haven't told him I needed to tell him anything, but we always meet up at the park on Tuesdays. Thank god I didn't need to come up with an excuse to talk to him without the others. They'd know I was lying.

When I got to the park I walked to our seat by the ice-cream stand and froze. Fang was there, yeah, but so was Lissa, the most popular girl in school. And do you know what the worst part was. They were freaking in full on make out mode. No, not just kissing, she was freaking sitting on him for crying out loud. "Excuse me, but this is a family place. I doubt people in general want to see that let alone their kids." That made them spring apart. I raised an eyebrow. Lissa glanced from me to Fang, to me and then Fang again. She whispered something in his ear. He stood up, grabbed my arm - which damn hurt - and walked me over to the fountain.

"Listen, Max. We can't be friends anymore." What the f****! "Why not? Because you'd rather be tongue tied with Lissa. God Fang, last week you hated her. And why are you choosing to do this now? My mom just freaking died and you're ditching me! So much for not hating me!" He shrugged. That's it, I can't take it anymore. But no, I can't punch Fang - no matter how much I wanted to - so I turned and left, knocking several things over on the way. Great. Why does my life do this to me?


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I'm spo sorry that it took me so long to update. I've had some serious writers block. But I'll try to be better from now on! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. My friend owns the plot. But I own the actual written peice. **

**Chapter 6: I can't take it anymore!**

_Max POV_

It really sucks to have your best friend ripped out of your life - his choice - just so he can date a slutty redhead. It's painful to have your mom die. And it makes everything worse if your dad beats you up too. That pretty much sums up my week. Okay, so it's been a week since Fang turned into a jerk and he hasn't turned back. If that was all I might be able to cope. But it's not. Add to that the grief I still feel for losing my mom two weeks ago. Okay even if you add that I might be able to cope. But when you add a drunk Jeb who constantly beats me up and abuses me. You get this.

Me sitting cross legged locked in my bathroom holding a pair of scissors. I slowly pull my sleeve up past my elbow. Bruises and the odd bite mark coat the entire patch of skin. Yes Jeb has bitten me, multiple times. It's the only thing he can think of to make me bleed. Unless you count the time he smashed a beer bottle on the side of my leg. Good thing I knew how to fix that. My mom was a vet so she taught me how to fix injuries like that. You know, in case of emergency.

I slowly brought the scissors up to my wrist. And cut. Blood dripped down my arm and I watched as each drop fell to the ground and stained the carpet. Funny, I thought to myself. If I focus on this the rest of the pain I call a life seems to leave me alone for once. I cut again, just below the first cut. I cut again. And again. Hell, I cut until I reached the middle of my forearm. Finally, I found something that helps me forget the pain I'm in.

_**(6 months later 6 months later 6 months later 6 months later 6 months later, yea I know it's weird to skip 6 months but I just did so :P)**_

As I walked into the school building I pulled on my jacket making sure the sleeves covered the cuts on my arms and the collar covered the bruises on my neck. I started heading towards my friends, only to be stopped by the populars. Great, that's just what I needed on my sunny bowl of a crappy morning.

"Where do you think you're going Maxi?" Lissa asked in an all too sweet voice. Blah. "Going to see my friends. Why? Do you want to come?" I threw that back in her face. "What friends?" That squeaky thing was Brigid. Lissa's BFF. Since like three days ago. "Come on Maxi, don't be like that." Damn it! It's so much harder to make people feel bad when I'm trying to make Fang feel bad. Why can't he keep his mouth shut anymore. Gah! "Sorry Fangles, but I'm going to go hang out with the people you left for these aliens. By the way, you still haven't given Iggy his twenty bucks back." I turned and left, leaving a pissed off Fang behind. I said it wasn't easy, not that I couldn't do it.

When I got back to the others they were completely unaware of what just happened. Well they were acting like they were. When Nudge saw me her face dropped, sure I wore make-up almost every day now, but I have to wear baggy clothes to hide my injuries and I'm pretty sure I didn't brush my hair this morning. Whoops. "Max, come on. Why do you wear those ugly clothes. All dull and baggy. You should wear purple, it would so work with your eyes. Or blue! That would work with your hair. Okay tomorrow after school I'm going to buy you a new wardrobe whether you come with me or not. I'm gonna get you some hair spray. No I'm gonna get you a hair brush seeing as you forgot how to use one. Oh! Can we go to the hairdressers? mff mff ffm!" I rolled my eyes and removed my hand from her mouth. "No. I'm fine like this."

I'm not gonna say I like the bell, I just no longer want to choke it to death. Want to know why? It went before I had to say anything else. And I was all too happy about that. Until I realised I had science next. I'm just gonna put it out in the open. I HATE SCIENCE! But we aren't doing any old science. NO! We are doing BIOLOGY. And I'm pretty sure that next week we have to disect something. I say something because I know it's not a frog.

Anyway, I walk into the classroom and take my seat at the very front of the room. What? Don't judge me. The freaking populars are at the back and if I don't get good grades Jeb hits me on the leg with a beer bottle. It's only happened once, but thats enough for me. Anyway almost as soon as I sat down, guess what happened, if you guessed Iggy came cartwheeling through the doorway, well, I'm sorry he's not in this class. If you guessed Fang and his gang of populars came in, then you should have a cookie but I don't have any so . . . sorry.

They all took one look at me and laughed. All except Fang. He was looking at my arm for some reason. I looked down and saw that my sleeve had gone up a bit. I mentally cursed and yanked it back into place. I knew he had seen though. He had seen a bruise, bite mark and cut. God, this was not good. At all.

When class was over it was announced that we would have a short break now because we were having an assembly that would go halfway through lunch. I walked into the cafeteria and went straight to the table I alway sat at. My friends were already sitting there. And they were all giving me worried looks.

"What?" I asked as I sat down. "Haven't you heard?" Damn it Iggy! If I had heard I would have told you now wouldn't I! "Obviously not!" My voice was rising. Angel shushed me, and if it weren't for the urgency in that shush I would have said something back. They all looked around as if they were checking if anyone was eavesdropping. Why would listen in on our conversations? They weren't telling me something. I knew they were going to tell me, but they were taking so damn long with it that I snatched Nudges phone off the table to check for myself. The only reason anybody would try to listen in on us is if they were looking for gossip.

I literally almost screamed in anger at what I read.

_Maximum Ride is such a Dadyz grl. I herd tht she loves her dad soooooo much shed died wthot hm. And she fat ugly hore. no1 lks hr. she shod go die in a hole. _

WTF!? That doesn't even make sense. I was so mad that I was seeing red. No joking, I was actually seeing red. I slowly put Nudges phone down. But I didn't say anything. That scared them more than anything else I could do. Nudge gulped and took her phone back. Probably silently thanking me that I didn't break it.

I stood up onto my seat. They all looked at me confused. Then I climbed up onto the table. I turned and faced everyone. They were all chatting amongst themselves. The odd person would look my way, nudge the person next to them and point, eventually everyone was looking at me. And I was just about ready to kill. I just couldn't take it any more!

It seems a lot like I'm overreacting doesn't it? Well, my 'dad' beats me up everytime he sees me, I have lost so much weight because I can't get any food without getting hit by him for taking what isn't mine, it's because of him that I have scars all over my arms and legs, and it's his fault that I cut. These people are saying that I'm a 'daddys girl' of course that is going to piss me off.

I slowly chose my target. Fang. I looked him right in the eye and shook my head slowly. Only he and the flock would notice. Then I jumped off the table landing crouched on the ground. I actually landed almost silently, but the room was even quieter so it sounded like a bomb exploding. I turned and walked out of the cafeteria. Even as I left I could hear phones buzzing. I turned around and yelled "I'm not even out of the room yet! Don't you people have anything better to do than pick on me?" With that I walked away. This was not going to go well. I gave them what they wanted. A reaction. Now they're gonna keep trying to get them. Great.


	7. Chapter 7

**Before I go any further: I'M SORRY I'M SUCH A LAZY AUTHOR! I have been having a lot of trouble with writers block and I just, I just... GARRRRRGH! Now that that's out of the way... **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Maximum Ride series. I do not own the story idea (I say this all the time but: THANKS NADINE!) But I own my writing style? I own the words on this page? I don't know. I just don't know.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Pain, annoyance, confusion, and more pain!**

_Max POV:_

Ever since my little episode in the cafeteria my locker became the new canvas of the graffiti artists, my email the address for hate-mail, my back became the place to stick notes (seriously! Are you kidding me? Who does that!?) and almost every lunchtime I would mysteriously get sent about 20 different texts telling me to go cry to my daddy or stop being an attention hog. As it was I had already lost my Mom, Dad, best friend, and the ability to walk around my own house without getting punched in the gut. Life sucked.

I was just about to walk out the front door to go to class when someone stumbled down the stairs. That would be Jeb. I automatically threw my bag out the door, knowing that if I didn't he'd take it off me and I'd have to stay home and steal it back when he passed out. I really didn't want to have to do that.

He dragged his feet as he walked towards me. An evil, drunken look in his eye. He didn't even bother trying to find an excuse he just straight away kneed me in the gut. I hunched over and took the opportunity to curl in a ball on the floor. I said nothing as I did so. This position made it harder for him to bruise me anywhere visible. This was what I always did so he immediately turned to ki9cking my back. With every acing kick the breath was knocked out of me. I was on the edge of unconsciousness when he stopped, turned around, and went back upstairs. Wincing as I straightened my spine I walked out the door, grabbed my bag and made my way to the bus stop. Daddy's girl, huh? If only they knew.

* * *

_Fang POV: _**(A/N: I know, I know, I'm awesome!)**

Lissa and Brigid were currently arguing on who was able to cling to me today. Did they even realise I was there? Did I get a say in this? I guess not. Every now and then one of them would grab my arm and proclaim it theirs. They are so stupid. I don't even remember why I gave p my old life for this. I knew it was too late to try to go back to the Flock. None of them trusted me anymore. And Max freaking hates me! I guess it was my fault though.

Just as I was about to tell them to stop freaking fighting over me I saw Max come in through the door. Why did I have to say the door/ No she went through the wall. For goodness sake. For once she didn't look pissed, or have any form of sarcasm showing on her face. Her chocolatey brown eyes just looked blank. Her expression unreadable. I noticed that she was walking strange, as though she couldn't quite stand straight. One of her long sleeves was pushed up to the middle of her forearm. I knew immediately that it wasn't purposely pushed up. How did I know this? Well, Max wouldn't want the world to see how sliced up her arm was. She freaking cut! When did this start! Judging by the look of them – some, thing white lines, while others, blood-red scars – anywhere from the day her mom died to just last week! I noticed her turn the corner and head towards the girls bathroom. Was she going to do it now!

"FANGY! Are you even listening to us? Now it's settled that I get you today!" Lissa shrieked in my ear. I flinched back from the sound. "We never agreed on that!" Brigid screeched back. I flinched from her as well.

* * *

_Max POV:_

I turned the lock on the bathroom stall. No one else was in here. I pulled my scissors out of my bag. Finally I was alone. I lifted the blade to my wrist. It wasn't going to be easy. I needed to find space. I lifted my sleeve up all the way to my shoulder and started leaving thin trails of blood as I started slicing my way down to my wrist. Not even caring if I went over the cuts I made yesterday. The added sting and blood-flow helped distracting me from the hell that was my life. When I was done I wiped my arm with some toilet paper, which I then flushed away, pulled my sleeve down and but a huge baggy hoody on overtop in case I got blood on my shirt.

With that I left in search of my friends only to be left with no time and having to go to class. First up... Science.

* * *

**Sorry it's so short! I'm still in a bit of a writers block. It's not my best work but I promise, in the next chapter something awesome will happen! You know, to outweigh how depressing this one is! I will update again when I have a total of 60 reviews. No less. That means if I don't get 12 reviews for the chapter I don't update. So until I do... Good-bye my fanfiction fans!**

**eternalreader62**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know, I know, I know, I know; I never update two days in a row. Well, I did leave you guys without anything for ages. And according to fanfiction I only have 6 chapters up when yesterday I put up the seventh. Don't know what's up with that... Anyway, Max and Fang actually have a freaking conversation in this chapter so . . . yea. On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. HOW MANY TIMES MUST I SAY IT!**

**Chapter 8: You know things are bad when your enemy is nice to you.**

_Max POV:_

As soon as I walked through the door to my science class I almost fainted. Yea, that kind of makes me sound like a 13-year-old girl meeting Josh Hutcherson doesn't it? Well I didn't meet any famous people in my Biology class so that could only mean one thing... Dissection day. I know what your thinking; 'Really Max, that almost made you faint?' Well, yea! It did! I hate the thought of some poor innocent creature being born into this world just so we could rip it apart and check out its insides. But there it was, clear as crystal, written on the board in big fancy letters: DISSECTION PARTNERS. And then a huge list of names next to another huge list of names therefore making a huge list of pairings. As I took my seat I scanned the list for my name. I almost went past it, and then automatically wished that I had. I had been partnered up with none other than Fang.

_Fang POV:_

As I walked into class I momentarily thought about walking back out. It was dissection day. Oh joy. I hated that this was a compulsory thing as well. I didn't particularly want to cut an animal into pieces and then see what was inside. I'm just not like that. But then I saw who I was partnered with... Max. I looked over to her usual spot at the front only to see her with her head down on her arms, which were resting on the desk. She looked as though she were asleep. But I knew better.

Ever since we started at this school she has been freaking out about Biology class for this exact reason. When we were still friends she told me of her plans to fake sick off school or maybe through a fit in the middle of class. I always thought she would do one of her ridiculous plans but now... I'm not so sure.

After managing to get away from Lissa and Brigid, who were complaining that they weren't paired with me and instead were paired with each other, I walked over and took the empty seat next to Max.

"Are you okay?"

_Max POV:_

My head shot up to look at Fang. Did he just say something to me that wasn't an insult of any kind? Oh my god he did! The only people who have done that in the past few weeks are the Flock and the teachers. No one else has sent a shred of kindness my way. I decided not to make anything from and instead answer his question.

"Yes...ah...no." I said reluctantly. He would be able to tell if I was lying anyway. When I didn't elaborate he took it into his own hands to keep this conversation going. "Where did that bruise come from?" I asked gesturing to my face. My hand automatically went to covert it from him. Crap! When Jeb punched me this morning some of my make-up came off. I have a huge black-eye.

"I tripped." I blurted. Great excuse. "On your face? Come on Max. We both know that's not true. And it obviously wasn't a fight. You wouldn't be afraid to admit that." I just had a few things to say about that: 1. When did he start talking like that? 2. Why does he care? 3. Why should I tell him! But it surprised me that I didn't say any of those things. What I did say was much more...nice. "Look, this isn't the time or place for this conversation." I thought that would be the end of it but I was wrong. What he said next confused and shocked me more than ever. "Well, it is a Tuesday. How about we meet at the park? And I promise, I won't bring anyone this time. What do you say?" And my answer shocked us both more than his question. "Alright. So long as you promise."


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh my . . . Is this true? Am I really back? I don't know. I'm a pretty useless author when it comes to updating. The last review from this story is from waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in February. I don't know what happened. I haven't even been on fanfiction in a few months much to my surprise. I used to live on this site. It'll probably happen again now that I've remembered my stories. It actually got to the point where I had almost completely forgotten about them! I feel really bad about it so I'm just going to hurry up and write the chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of the characters from that series. I also don't own any music used in this story.**

**Chapter 9: Talk About Déjà Vu **

_Max POV:_

When it came to the end of the day I wasn't sure if I even wanted to meet Fang at the park anymore. First there was the whole my-dad-will-kill-me-if-I-don't-get-home-on-time thing to worry about. Though he'd probably be too drunk to notice. After making the mistake of telling the Flock I knew I had to go no matter what I wanted. Especially with Nudge desperate to find out why Fang had a sudden change of heart. She was the most likely one out of all of us to give him a second chance. Apart from the fact that I kinda, sorta, not really, already did. It wasn't as if I meant to. It just . . . happened.

As I walked from the school parking lot I felt the nerves eating their way through me. I hadn't been alone with Fang since THAT day. And whenever we saw each other the only thing we exchanged was insults. I hoped that wasn't going to happen today. I wouldn't be able to handle it. I was very conscious of the soft stinging sensation on my wrist every time my sleeve rubbed against the cuts. I had kept the hood on all day and I was going to keep it on until I was at home, away from prying eyes. The heat of the day was the least of my worries.

_Fang POV:_

I couldn't say what shocked me more: the fact that I'd asked Max to meet me at the park or the fact that she'd said yes. Either way there I was sitting on the same bench that I'd sat on every Tuesday, rain or shine, for the last four years of my friendship with Max. I was overcome with memories from all the times we'd spent here. There was the day I arrived late to see Max pretending to be passed out drunk just to scare me. And the time we came here on the day before Halloween and she kept scaring little kids pretending to be a vampire by drinking liquid red jelly that looked surprisingly like blood. Well, it did in the dark. There were so many more but the one that stood out the most was the day we made the decision to come here every Tuesday. I couldn't help but get sucked into the flashback that I knew was going to happen.

_Max was frowning. At 12 she had decided that she wasn't a kid anymore and wanted more responsibility. Unfortunately her mom listened and made her take several dogs from the vet on a walk and then she had to help out the rest of the day. Max had been at school most of the day so in the few short hours she actually had to do all these things she made me go with her. She didn't realise that responsibility wasn't that fun of a thing to have. Max threw herself down on the nearest park bench in a rather dramatic manner. I laughed and sat down like a normal person. She glared at me. Not that I was surprised. Max glared at everybody. "We need to have a space for fun. Where we don't have to be 'responsible' or do anything that we don't want to." She had a determined look in her eyes that I knew well. "What do you suggest?" I asked, knowing there was no way to get out of this whether I wanted to or not. "We should meet here, at this very bench, every Tuesday. Rain or Shine. Summer or winter. No matter what." She held out her pinkie finger. "Do you promise?" She looked at me with pleading eyes. I wrapped my finger around hers. "I promise." _

And that was the beginning of a tradition that I ruined. I have to admit; it took me a while to realise I could actually do something on a Tuesday. I was odd. Sometimes it still is. I was so used to coming here. Tuesday was the one day I didn't have to worry about anything.

I heard the crunch of someone standing on dry leaves. I looked up to see Max standing there. Her eyes no longer held the mischievous glint, instead they looked empty. Her face held a permanent frown instead of the smirk I had grown so used to. She sat down next to me and looked me in the eyes.

"Whatever I say to you today you can't tell anyone. Not a single person, or even animal. This is strictly confidential." The now 16 year old Max help out her pinkie finger, just as she had 4 years ago. "Do you promise?" I wrapped my finger around hers. "I promise."

_Max POV:_

No matter what had happened the last time we met here I still felt like I needed to tell him. Maybe then he'd cut me some slack. Give me a break. I don't know. It was that damn voice in my head telling me to trust him. As I explained what happens at home on an everyday basis, the abuse; physical and emotional, I could see the disbelief written across his face. I knew he wouldn't believe me, the last time Fang had seen Jeb he'd been too consumed by tears to turn it into anger. Jeb used to be gentle believe it or not. He always told me off for being so violent. To prove my point I took off my oversized hoodie and pulled up one of my sleeves. Thankful that it wasn't the one I'd cut this morning I showed him the bruises the dotted up my arm. Unfortunately he could still see the scars.

Fang's eyebrows were scrunched up in concentration as he gently took my arm in his hands and examined the bruises. Some vaguely took the shape of a hand from all the times Jeb grabbed me to make sure I couldn't leave. Fang's eyes flickered over to my other arm. Before I could do anything he had it in his grasp. "Max is this blood?" He was staring at my sleeve. Sure enough there was blood on the sleeve. Damn it. I was hoping against hope that he wouldn't notice. Before I could explain he'd pulled my sleeve up and was staring in horror at my wrist and forearm. I saw the blood drain from his face. He looked up at me and searched my eyes. I was an emotion in his that I couldn't remember seeing before. He was afraid. "Max!" Crap. "Um. . ." This was not good.

**That took a while to write. Yea I know. CLIFF HANGER! Let's hope it doesn't take me so long to update this time. Write soon (hopefully)  
~ eternalreader62**


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay. I have decided against making you have to wait another million years for the next chapter so . . . IM WRITING IT NOW! You should be impressed that I'm doing this so soon after the first one. I don't have a great history of doing that. :P Anyway . . . That is not why you are here. On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters. I also do not own any of the music used in this story.**

_**Last Time In Chapter 9:**_

_Sure enough there was blood on the sleeve. Damn it. I was hoping against hope that he wouldn't notice. Before I could explain he'd pulled my sleeve up and was staring in horror at my wrist and forearm. I saw the blood drain from his face. He looked up at me and searched my eyes. I was an emotion in his that I couldn't remember seeing before. He was afraid. "Max!" Crap. "Um. . ." This was not good. _

**Chapter 10: Like He Really Cares:**

_Max POV:_

"Ummm..." I stalled. What should I tell him? What could I tell him? It was kind of obvious what had happened. It was then that my brain decided that it would be great to throw at me every time Fang had been a jerk to me since he and Lissa got together. Every insult. Every time I wanted to just scream out in frustration. The hurt. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why do you care?" I screamed in his face. "Huh? It's not like you really want to know is it Fang? You just want something else you can throw in my face tomorrow at school. Well screw you! I never should have come here!" I knew I was taking it a bit out of proportion, but can you really blame me? After the way he's been treating me I'm surprised I didn't swear my ass off the first chance I got.

"Why do I care?" Fang looked a mixture of shocked and horrified. I wasn't sure whether or not to find it amusing or get angrier. "Max! Why wouldn't I care? The only reason I'm here is because I was worried about that bruise on your face? You can tell me Max. In fact you already have. There's no point in trying to hide anything from me, I can see right through it." I felt tears starting to water in my eyes. Oh god, now I'm going to cry. "Oh yea. If that's so true how come it's taken you so long to notice? Wasn't it you who found me crying in the utility closet? You still said nothing. You just shut the door and left! Now you expect me to think that this whole time you've cared." Oh yea, the tears were definitely flowing now. "I was going to tell you about this that day. The day you stabbed me in the back. The day you made sure this place was never going to be a fun getaway for me anymore. You might still see the good memories and I wish I could but all I see it you sitting with HER telling me you didn't want to be my friend. I was going to tell you about all of this! The drinking, the abuse, the hate. You think I wanted this to happen." I was sobbing now. Hysterical in fact. I had to fight to stay on my feet and I was momentarily glad that no one was around to hear my outbursts.

Fang looked like he was about to say something. "NO!" I cut him off. "I don't want to hear it. Just leave me alone. I NEVER want to see you again. EVER!" I screamed. With that I did that classic turn and run away thing. I was trying to stop myself from crying. If Jeb saw me like this he'd call me a baby and beat me harder. I knew that when I arrived home I was in for a world of pain. Just as I turned off the street the weather took a turn for the worst and it started to pour. Within seconds I was soaked through.

_Fang POV:_

As Max ran away in tears I felt helpless. No not helpless; useless, stupid and naive. How could I have been so stupid? If I'd been more of a friend she might not still be in this situation. I still couldn't believe that Jeb hit her. I was shocked and above all else: angry. I wasn't just mad at Jeb though, if I'm being honest, I was angry at myself. Obviously I felt the urge to kill Max's lame excuse for a father at the first chance I got, but . . . I didn't realise how much she hated me. I guess I should have expected as much, I haven't really done anything to help her, nor have I been civil towards her until today. She was right. Not about everything but she did have some key points there. First of all, I did find her crying in a utility closet. At the time I assumed she was still grieving over her mom, but I guess I was wrong. Either way, I should have asked her.

Rain was pouring down on me but I was too entranced in my thoughts to notice. There was one thing she was defiantly wrong about.

I did care.

_Max POV:_

When I finally arrived home, soaking wet I might add, I was overly shocked to find that Jeb was nowhere to be seen. I checked every room but I didn't bother looking for a note. When Jeb went out he just . . . went out. Why would he bother to tell me he was going somewhere? It's not like I cared. I was glad he wasn't here. I could take a shower and pretend that everything that happened this afternoon didn't happen. That it wasn't me, just some other girl in the exact same situation. But I knew that was hopeless. I was petrified of going to school tomorrow. Would Fang tell Lissa? I knew she would want to know where he was this afternoon. Maybe she already knows! Maybe they planned the whole thing just so they could tease me the next day.

I felt angry rising again. _Calm down Max, _that stupid voice scolded. _Lissa isn't smart enough to come up with anything other than an insult. Even then they aren't very good. Just CALM DOWN._ I guess I really was angry if I was yelling at myself in my head.

With all of these thoughts whizzing around in my mind, I had a shower and methodically made a dinner for Jeb that he most likely wouldn't eat. After I had finished I made my own dinner. Something else of course. Something he wouldn't notice was missing if her ever decided to look in the kitchen for food instead of booze.

When I was done I started on my homework. There was a lot due tomorrow. Our stupid science teacher thought it would be fun to make us review the horrible dissection we had to do today and apparently we had to come up with ideas for a project. We had to do it in partners and I sure knew who I didn't want to end up with.

**Longish type chapter. Well, for someone who is writing at 11:13pm when they got up at 6. I think I did pretty well. Sorry if there are any mistakes. I'm too tired to edit.  
~eternalreader62**


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